Lillie Keenan and Clearway (Shawn McMillen Photography)

Upper Marlboro, MD – The Capital Challenge Equitation Championship Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com, hosted three equitation finals today, starting with the North American Junior Equitation Championship, in which Lillie Keenan took home the big win on Clearway, owned by Heritage Farm. Sydney Hutchins was victorious in the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children's Medal Finals, while Annie Finch won the blue ribbon in the North American Adult Amateur Equitation Finals. The Capital Challenge Horse Show runs through Sunday, October 7, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD.

There were 75 entries in the North American Junior Equitation Championship, and the top 20 from the first round returned for the second round. Keenan, of New York, NY, sat in second place going into the second round with a total average of 92, and she executed a beautiful trip with a score of 93.40 and a total of 184.40 to move into the lead. Victoria Colvin on VIP Z was close behind with a total score of 183.60 after receiving an identical score to Keenan in the second round.

Keenan said, “I think after the first round, I realized that I needed to be a little bit softer. By the second round, I'd softened, been in the ring, and jumped some of the lines in the second course, so I knew where I was going.”

Watch an interview with Lilly Keenan

With just .8 of a point separating the two, Keenan and Colvin had to return for a work-off. The judges – Jeff Ayers, Rob Bielefield, Cynthia Hankins, Bobbie Reber, and Jim Toon – set a challenging test that included a counter canter, hand gallop, trot jump, and halt, all without stirrups. The two riders had to face outside the ring and could not watch the other rider's test.

Colvin went first and had a fantastic trip, and Keenan followed with another smooth ride. It was incredibly close as their test scores were less than a half point apart. Keenan received a 90.6, while Colvin was scored at 90.2. Keenan won with a slight edge in a total of 275, while Colvin was second with a 273.8.

“I didn't know about the testing,” Keenan admitted. “I learned about that before I went, and I was hoping that I'd get into (the test). I liked the test. I thought it was very fitting for the event. When they said no stirrups, for a moment I was like, 'Oh my goodness. I better start squeezing.' But with that horse, he didn't even notice. When you don't have your stirrups, obviously it takes a toll on your position. I tried really hard to keep that together. He's great at all of those tests - the counter canter, the halt, the hand gallop. He's so game and so adjustable. He's really great to do in a test.”

Talking about not being able to see Colvin's test, Keenan said, “I have done maybe three other tests where I had to face out of the ring. It definitely made me nervous, not being able to see her go, but I knew the numbers and had reviewed it a hundred times to make sure that I really knew where I was going. Before we started, I knew what my plan was going to be. When you go to a test and you're within such a close range - the points are so close together - it's good to even the playing field and make it so that no one has an advantage.”

Third place went to Megan MacPherson on Great Expectations, who finished with a two-round total of 178.41. Alison Cooney was fourth (175.8) on Wittewa, while Ashley Foster placed fifth with a score of 175.26 riding Raindance.

Keenan has ridden Clearway, who is owned by Heritage Farm, since April. She described, “I have to say, this horse is really special. He's really a once in a lifetime horse. I'm really lucky to get to ride him. He's one of those horses where you just know that he wants to win and he isn't going to let you down. He does everything in his power to make it work. He manages to be unfazed but he has that look to him; he's not boring, he's still interested. He wants to win and you can tell that from the feeling he gives you.”

Keenan heads into the indoor finals season as one of the strongest contenders in the country. “I think this gives me a lot of confidence going into the finals, with the [USEF Talent Search Finals] next week and then indoors,” she remarked. “It's nice to be here because it's a really nice event, and it's not the same kind of pressure that you have going into a final that you qualified for, but it's a lot of fun.”

For her big win, Keenan was awarded the George H. Morris Equitation Championship Trophy donated by Frank and Stacia Madden and Beacon Hill Show Stables. Clearway's groom, Raoul Gomez, won the North American Equitation Champion Groom's Award sponsored by Holly Hill Farm. Keenan won the Best Equitation Rider Award sponsored by Karen Healey and Karen Healey Stables. Keenan's trainers, Andre Dignelli, Patricia Griffith, Laena Romond, and Brady Mitchell, won the Leading Equitation Trainer Award.

The EMO Equitation Trip of the Show sponsored by EMO Insurance Services went to Victoria Colvin, who scored a 92.

For full results and more information, please visit www.capitalchallenge.org. If you can’t attend the Capital Challenge Horse Show, remember you can log on to www.equestriansport.tv to see all the action live.

Final Results: North American Junior Equitation Championship

1   CLEARWAY        LILLIE KEENAN      ?              
95    92    90    89    89      91.00
96    96    92    89    94      93.40
88    90    92    92    91      90.60 275.00
2    VIP Z           VICTORIA COLVIN    ?             
91    90    88    90    92      90.20
95    93    91    95    93      93.40
90    91    93    88    89      90.20 273.80
3    GREAT EXPECTATIONS MEGAN MACPHERSON   ?              
90.5  90    84.55 85.25 85.75   87.21
91    94    89    90    92      91.20 178.41
4     WITTEWA               ALISON COONEY      ?              
90.75 90    85.75 85.25 87.5    87.85
90.5  88    86    86.75 88.5    87.95 175.80
5    RAINDANCE       ASHLEY FOSTER      ?              
86    86.75 84.8  83.5  91      86.41
90    90    88    87.25 89      88.85 175.26
6    FABRICO         MORGAN GELLER      ?              
88    88    84.5  85.5  87      86.60
89.5  91    87.5  87.75 87.5    88.65 175.25
7   FORTUNE COOKIE  MICHAEL JANSON     ?              
85.5  88.25 84.75 86.5  83.8    85.76
89    87    87    85    86      86.80 172.56
8    VAN RADJAH      SYDNEY CALLAWAY    ?              
83.5  87.75 83.75 85.25 86.5    85.35
86    85    86    87.5  84      85.70 171.05
9    RENOIR          ISABELLA NORTON    ?              
87    86.75 85.5  82.15 84.75   85.23
88    80    85    88    85      85.20 170.43
10   COPYRIGHT       MEREDITH DARST     ?              
84.75 87.25 83.8  78.25 84.25   83.66
87    89    81    87    88      86.40 170.06